R.I.P.: Radio, TV Broadcaster Paul Cassidy

Paul Cassidy

Paul Cassidy, a veteran radio and television executive who served as chairman of the broadcasting group Cordillera Communications, died March 1 in Plano, Texas.

He was 83, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Survivors include his daughter Carolyn Cassidy, senior vp and head of current programming at Twentieth Century Fox Television.

Paul Cassidy's career in TV station management began in 1981 at KOLD in Tucson, Arizona. He then guided TV stations in Lafayette, Louisiana (KATC) and Buffalo, New York (WKBW) before joining Cordillera in 1995 as president of its newly created TV division.

Cassidy supervised 11 stations in seven states before retiring in the early 2000s as chairman of the Minnesota-based company, a subsidiary of Evening Post Industries.

Following graduation from Michigan State University and service in the U.S. Army, Cassidy moved to Pittsburgh, where he served as an assistant manager at the local Hilton hotel. A representative at local radio station KDKA then hired him for a sales position.

That led to Cassidy managing a series of prominent rock 'n' roll and country music radio stations — including KHJ, KLOS, KTNQ and KGBS in Los Angeles and KSFX in San Francisco — where he paired colorful DJs with talented music programmers before segueing to television.